Women needed for incontinence study

The division of urology is
recruiting women suffering from stress
urinary incontinence (SUI) for a
surgical study. Dr. Stephen Kraus,
assistant professor in the department
of surgery, will compare the overall
treatment success of the "Burch"
and the "Sling" procedures. Both are
standard surgical procedures to
treat SUI.

SUI is the accidental loss of urine
that occurs with exercise, sneezing,
laughing, coughing or any other
activity that may put pressure on the
abdomen or bladder. It affects women
of all ages, but usually occurs in
middle-aged women who have had
several children or a hysterectomy.

Many treatment options are
available, but surgical management of
SUI is considered the mainstay. "While
the Burch and Sling surgeries have
been performed for years, the two have
never been studied or compared in a
meaningful and reliable manner," said
Caren Prather, a registered nurse and
member of the division of urology
incontinence and voiding dysfunction
research team. Dr. Kraus' study will
determine which of these procedures
keeps women dry longer, requires the
least amount of hospital time and has
the fewest side effects.

Women interested in participating
must be at least 21 years old, have
suffered from SUI for at least three
months, and have no neurological
diseases. Participants will be randomly
selected for one of the procedures and
will not know which surgery doctors
performed until after the procedure.

For more information or to
enroll in the study, call Prather at
ext. 7-0548 or Sylvia Escobedo
Sluder at ext. 7-0550.

The UTHSC is one of nine
institutions involved in the study
nationwide. Wilford Hall Medical
Center (WHMC) is slated as a future
site for eligible military beneficiaries.
Dr. R. Duane Cespedes, director of
female urology and urodynamics in the
department of urology, is the principal
investigator at the WHMC site. Patient
recruitment for eligible military
beneficiaries will begin in the near
future at Wilford Hall.